Human rights lawyer Marianne Elliott knows the true meaning of "Zen Under Fire."


That's the name of the book she wrote[1] about her harrowing experiences in Afghanistan, where she was stationed with the United Nations in 2006 when a tribal leader was assassinated.


Being in Afghanistan put a strain on Elliott's relationship with her boyfriend, friends and family. Eventually, a state of extreme fear became her new normal, she told HuffPost Live's Nancy Redd[2] .


"It's interesting when I look back to realize how accustomed you become to the dangers you're living with," Elliott said. "It wasn't really until I left Afghanistan that I looked back and realized there was this constant level of fear that affected me in a physical and nervous-system level that I had just become used to."


Check out the full conversation at HuffPost Live HERE[3] .



Also on HuffPost:




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  • <strong>"Fearlessness is like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the more natural it becomes to not let your fears run you."</strong>




  • <strong>"To live exuberantly, we must be prepared to illuminate the dark spots in ourselves."</strong>




  • <strong>"The first step toward changing the world is to change our vision of the world and of our place in it."</strong>




  • <strong>"Children brought up to feel that their lives have a larger purpose are more likely to keep their own troubles in perspective."</strong>




  • <strong>"When we feel we constantly have to prove ourselves at work, we give priority to our jobs over everything and everyone else."</strong>




  • <strong>"Being fearless doesn't mean living a life devoid of fear, but living a life in which our fears don't hold us back."</strong>




  • <strong>"Given adequate time and sufficient fear, we may hide so long that we hardly notice we're slowly suffocating."</strong>




  • <strong>"Naysayers have little power over us -- unless we give it to them."</strong>




  • <strong>"Squashing our true selves is a major cause of fear, anxiety, and depression."</strong>




  • <strong>"The more fearless we are in our personal lives, the more of that spirit we'll bring to changing our world."</strong>




  • <strong>"If we do rush in and make a bad decision, let's at least quickly forgive ourselves, learn, and move on."</strong>




  • <strong>"Survival behavior can be triggered by the fear of losing anything that we perceive as being part of our identity."</strong>




  • <strong>"Making the choice to move forward despite fear is an evolved decision that transcends our animal nature."</strong>




  • <strong>"We may not be able to tune our inner critics out entirely, but we don't have to let them run the show."</strong>




  • <strong>"That virtue called manliness is highly underrated in women. To me, it includes choosing to be brave rather than fearful."</strong>




  • <strong>"Refusing to be controlled by threats, guilt, blame -- even praise and blandishments -- is our true calling as human beings."</strong>




  • <strong>"A fear-driven life is a life not fully lived."</strong>